Sylvia Arifin
Head of People Operations Octant
Sylvia Arifin leads People Ops at Octant, a drug discovery startup building next-generation precision medicines for genetically defined diseases. Drawing on over 20 years of experience, she blends operational rigor with leadership rooted in trust to build and scale the people function in highly technical environments. Prior to Octant, Sylvia led the People and Culture team at Invitae through its rapid growth from 100 to 1,000 employees, shaping talent acquisition, total rewards, people analytics, and M&A integration. She began her career in university HR, supporting administrators, faculty, and researchers who shared her passion for learning and deep inquiry.
Seminars
- How can life science organizations surface honest, high-signal engagement feedback when industry uncertainty amplifies stress, mixed signals, and internal tension?
- Learn how Octant engages R&D managers in interpreting company-level engagement results, bringing context and credibility to feedback that is rarely straightforward
- See how shared ownership of engagement data strengthens trust, improves dialogue, and builds organizational maturity as companies grow
Interactive Q&A Session
This session explores how HR can move beyond transactional tasks to become a true strategic partner during periods of rapid growth. We’ll examine how embedding HR business partners deeply within the organization and integrating employee-led feedback models can strengthen cultural resilience, improve organizational design, and drive authentic engagement.
- Shifting HR from “order taking” to strategic partnership for better workforce decisions
- Designing a high-touch HRBP model that scales with organizational growth
- Leveraging employee-led feedback to uncover hidden engagement challenges
- Practical steps to build psychological safety and cross-team alignment
